Community Conversation on Kansans Can Succeed Aug. 16

Education officials announce
Kansans Can Success tour coming to 50 locations & Fort Scott is on the list!
Everyone, including educators, parents, legislators, members of the business community, and members of the media are invited to attend!
Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson and Deputy Commissioner Dr. Brad Neuenswander are conducting 50 community conversations.
The Kansas State Board of Education’s outcomes for measuring progress toward achieving that vision were also derived from information gathered during the tour. Outcomes include social-emotional growth, kindergarten readiness, Individual Plan of Study, graduation, postsecondary success, and civic engagement.
Watson and Neuenswander will share success stories, as well as challenges, discuss the Kansans Can School Redesign Project, answer questions, and gather information during the tours.

FSCC Women’s Flag Football Recruitment Begins

Women’s Flag Football is coming to Fort Scott Community College.

“Flag football is an emerging sport which has gained popularity across the country in recent years,” Tom Havron, FSCC’s Athletic Director said.  “Many NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools in the region have started the programs, and FSCC is proud to be one of the founding members at the NJCAA level.”

“Flag football will be a female sport, consisting of 15-20 team  members,” he said. “We will have students at FSCC fall of 2022, but the inaugural season will be a spring sport starting in 2023.”

Tom Havron is the FSCC Athletic Director. Submitted photos.

“Women’s Flag Football has been a growing commodity across the nation and FSCC intends to provide an opportunity for these student-athletes to continue their passion for the sport while pursuing their education at the collegiate level.”

“Similar to the Fort Scott youth flag football program, the FSCC team will feature women who play the game at a high level,” he said.

“FSCC is currently recruiting students to start competition in the fall of 2022,” Havron said.

Flag football. Submitted photo.

 

“As flag football is an emerging sport, there are not many people who have much experience in the region,” Havron said.  “We have communicated with the area NAIA schools who have started the program in the past few years and hope to learn and grow with them.  FSCC was awarded a $10,000 grant from the NFL and NJCAA.  Part of this will be used to seek professional development activities for our coaching staff. ”

“We will practice on the FSCC campus at the turf field, and hope to play our games at Frary Field as well as other regional institutions,” he said.

 

Bourbon County Coalition Minutes of Aug. 4

Bourbon County Inter-Agency Coalition

General Membership Meeting Minutes

August 4, 2021

Click below to view the Bourbon County Coalition Resources Book

Bo Co Resource Book (1)

  1. Welcome: Billie Jo welcomed six members representing six agencies to the meeting. Following a brief discussion, consensus was that the Coalition would plan on a face-to-face meeting in September with the option of a Zoom meeting or combination meeting if Covid things change.
  1. Member Introductions and Announcements:

Michelle Worsley, SEK-CAP, noted that there are openings for the 0-3 and 3-5 homebased Head Start programs. These programs are income based and require that the workers go into the homes to work with the children.

Elizabeth Schafer, CASA and Feeding Families, shared that CASA court cases continue to be through Zoom. Feeding Families serves between 250-300 each week and will continue to be a drive-through service due to lack of space to seat such a large number of participants. Billie Jo added that the Monday Feeding Families at Community Christian Church will continue through the month of August.

Nancy Van Etten, American Red Cross, reminded members there is a blood drive scheduled for August 17 and 18 at Buck Run Community Center.

Holly Fritter, Bourbon County Health Department, noted that the “Mommy and Me” program will be held this month on August 25 at 3:00 p.m. at the Health Department. This month’s subject is breast feeding; the program is open to all mothers and pregnant ladies. They are always in need of diapers and will take donations at the Health Department. Members were reminded that The Beacon is always in need of diapers also.

Patty Simpson, Fort Scott Housing Authority, and Sandy Haggard, RSVP, shared how the Resident Advisory Board has teamed with RSVP to give back to the community. They have recently done a collection drive for toiletries and toys for DCF and first night bags for TFI. Patty also noted that the Housing Authority has a short waiting list for all types of apartments.

Mandi H-Woods, Kansas Children’s Service League, sent word that the Healthy Families is accepting families that speak Spanish at this time. She also reminded members to check KCSL.org for parenting tip cards, resources, and monthly training opportunities. 1-800-CHILDREN is a 24-hour parenting line available to all parents for support and resources.

  1. Program (no programs until September)

September program will be presented by Jody Hoener, Healthy Bourbon County.

  1. Open Forum: Billie Jo recently received an inquiry about the availability of a Bourbon County Resource Guide. A copy of the latest guide is being sent to Coalition members along with these minutes; however, there may be a more current guide available. If possible, a copy of the newer guide will be forwarded at a later date. Nancy also reminded members that Aunt Bertha.com is an excellent resource we can easily access.
  1. Adjournment: Next General Membership meeting will be September 1, 2021.

FS City Commission Meets in Special Session August 5

The  Fort Scott City Commission will have a special meeting August 5, 2021, at 6:00 PM at City Hall, 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas.

 

This meeting is open to the public. This meeting will also be made available via the City’s you tube channel at City of Fort Scott.

The agenda:

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
FORT SCOTT CITY COMMISSION
CITY HALL COMMISSION ROOM
123 S MAIN STREET
August 5, 2021
6:00 P.M.
I. ROLL CALL:
K. ALLEN P. ALLEN R NICHOLS L WATTS J. JONES
II. CONSIDERATION:
1. Approve Broker for Lake Lot Properties
2. Approve Broker for 4500 Campbell Drive
3. Executive Session
III. ADJOURN

 

City Hires New HR Director: Brad Matkin

Brad Matkin. Submitted photo.

Brad Matkin, 51, is the new Fort Scott  Director of Human Resources. His start day was August 2, 2021.

“I will be recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding new members,” Matkin said. “Working on member benefits, challenging our benefit resources to give us better opportunities/pricing, working with the department managers to provide management/leadership training, and being the ears for the city members, and several other things too numerous to list.”

Matkin’s office is at Fort Scott City Hall, 123 S. Main. The phone number of city hall is 223-0550.

Matkin believes a good human resource person is the backbone of a company/organization, working on policies, processes, and helping create a good working environment for the members, he said.

“With that, I just kept working getting my education and gaining the knowledge it would take to be successful in a position like this… Director of Human Resources for the City of Fort Scott.”

The best part of the career is working with the members of the entity, he said. “I really enjoy the interaction with them even if the situation is sometimes not a good one. I feel members need to be able to voice their opinion to someone that can be confidential but also someone that can possibly help.”

The  COVID-19 Pandemic has created challenges in a human resource person’s job.

“Hiring and retaining members is everybody’s challenge currently but I feel the challenge is exciting,” Matkin said. “I feel getting the right mix of people that will create a good team environment plus treating them fair will make them happy to come to work. “Communication is key to retaining members, yes wages and benefits are important also, but if you can make members feel important and create a bond between the groups you will be much more successful. The old saying that members leave their boss not the job is very true.”

Matkin earned a master’s degree in business administration at Pittsburg State University with an emphasis in human resources. He has over twenty years in business management and four years in a human resource and recruiting role.

He is married ” to my wonderful wife of 28 years, Tammy” and they have three grown children and two grandsons, he said.

Outside of his career Matkin enjoys spending time with family and collects sports memorabilia.  “I also like watching KC Chiefs football and KC Royals baseball,” he said.

 

 

 

Kansas Receives CDC Funding for Injury Prevention Work

 

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) received $250,000 per year for five years from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Injury Center) to address injuries in Kansas.

The award to Kansas is part of $33 million going to 23 states over the next five years as part of the Core State Injury Prevention Program (Core SIPP), which is a new cooperative agreement funded by CDC’s Injury Center. The funds help states identify, evaluate and disseminate strategies that address populations experiencing disproportionate burden of injuries associated with adverse childhood experiences, traumatic brain injury, and transportation-related injury.

“Injury and violence prevention are top public health priorities in Kansas because injuries are preventable and often lead to disability and death, which are emotionally and financially costly,” said Daina Zolck, KDHE Director of Injury and Violence Prevention programs. “Through the Core SIPP, the Injury and Violence Prevention programs will champion a shared approach to work more effectively and in an upstream manner to determine why injuries and violence are occurring in our state and how we can address the underlying root causes.”

Through a competitive application process, CDC selected the following 23 states to receive Base Component funding: Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.

The work Kansas will be doing to address these important public health problems includes focus on robust injury data and surveillance, partnerships and collaboration, and continuous assessment and evaluation for quality improvement. Core SIPP will support evidence-based and evidence-informed programming for Adverse Childhood Experiences, Traumatic Brain Injury and Motor Vehicle Crashes as well as youth suicide.

This work will help Kansas identify and respond to existing and emerging injury threats with data-driven public health actions. To learn more about Kansas’ injury prevention activities, visit Kansas Department of Health and Environment: Injury & Violence Prevention Programs. To learn more about Core SIPP, visit www.cdc.gov/injury/stateprograms/coresipp/index.html.

Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend At Several Ft. Scott Retailers

The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce an opportunity for shoppers to save money August 6th through the 8th.

Select retailers will be offering a Sales Tax Holiday by volunteering to pay the sales tax for shoppers. Enjoy a 9.4% discount this weekend at these participating merchants: Angie Dawn’s Boutique, Bids & Dibs, Hedgehog.INK, J & W Sports, Ruddick’s Furniture & Flooring (up to $500 of sales/$50 of Sales Tax) Shirt Shack, Sunshine Boutique, and Treasure Hunt Flea Market. These stores offer a variety of merchandise including apparel, home furnishings and décor – both new and repurposed, school supplies and much more. There is no need to cross the border during this No Sales Tax Holiday Weekend. Save money, shop local, shop Fort Scott.

This shop local promotion is organized by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce. Please contact (620) 223-3566 with questions.

Downtown Clean Up Day August 13: Ideas, Volunteers, Donations Needed

Organized by the Downtown Divison of the
Chamber Board!
Engaging opportunities within our community!
Project Ideas, Volunteers
& Donations Requested
Downtown Spring Clean
Friday, August 13th, 3-6pm
See information below.
Project Ideas & Sign-ups
to volunteer requested by April 7th!
The Downtown Division of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce has planned a Downtown Spring Clean event on Friday, August 13th from 3 to 6pm. The committee is seeking project ideas and volunteers for the event to spruce up the Downtown Historic District.
The committee is asking for people to submit project ideas, or sign up to volunteer, preferably by this Wednesday, August 11th so projects and materials needed can be organized. All participants will receive a free t-shirt, courtesy of MyOneStop, and businesses/organizations who send a group of volunteers and/or provide a donation for materials will be listed on the back of the t-shirt. Donations may be made to the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and dropped off at 231 E. Wall St.
Those with project ideas or interest in volunteering may contact Bailey Lyons, Downtown Division Chair, at 620-224-7795 or email [email protected].
FORT SCOTT DOWNTOWN
SPRING CLEAN EVENT
Date: FRIDAY, AUGUST 13TH, 2021
Available Times: 3 PM – 6 PM

Bourbon County Local News